Sunday, April 23, 2006

MidLife Crisis - Good or Bad?

The Midlife Crisis gets a lot of bad press. Surely anything that makes you stop and think about what you're doing and where you're heading has to be a good thing?Possibly, packing in your job, ditching the wife and kids and buying a Harley is an extreme measure, but there must be some centre ground to be found in the deal.I had ridden mopeds and motorbikes when I was a teenager - until I finally grew tired of the wet and cold and passed my car test. (At the 3rd attempt).Cars are much more practical and sensible. Warm, comfortable, you can take everything you need, anywhere you like. I like cars, they're great.Somehow though I always regretted the fact that I had never bothered to take the bike test - at the time I hadn't thought I'd ever want to ride anything bigger than a 250cc bike (as was the legal learners limit then). In fact I'm not sure I ever thought I'd want to ride anything again.Sometime around my fortieth birthday I decided I should get a bike again, a couple of years later I did, now almost two years on from that I find that I still haven't taken my full practical bike test. I've pottered around on a beautiful 1975 Honda XL 125 trials bike. I took my CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) and passed my theory test.The practical test should be easy - so why haven't I taken it? Lack of confidence partly - not a problem when I was 17. Then I had a bigger bike and no training whatsoever. Now I suppose I know how dangerous these things are and what can actually happen. Now after 22 years of car driving, I'm a pretty sensible, careful road-user.Anyway - The point is, I have until 12th June 2006 to pass my practical bike test, or I have to take the CBT again - a waste of time and money - so this is where I start to take it seriously.

2 Comments:

Hey Brother! Good luck with your test. I'm from Orlando, FL and have been riding for 47 years. The best policy for riding that I have found is keep the dirty side down. You have a great blog. Thanks for sharing.